Julio Argentino Roca

Julio Argentino Roca (17 July 1843-19 October 1914) was President of Argentina from 12 October 1880 to 11 October 1886 (succeeding Nicolas Avellaneda and preceding Miguel Juarez) and from 12 October 1898 to 11 October 1904 (succeeding Jose Evaristo Uriburu and preceding Manuel Quintana). He was the leader of the conservative National Autonomist Party.

Biography
Julio Argentino Roca was born in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina on 17 July 1843, and he joined the army at the age of 15 and fought in the Paraguayan War. He was promoted to General by President Nicolas Avellaneda after defeating a rebellion at Santa Rosa, as he acted as an agent of national unification. In 1878, he became Avellaneda's Minister of War, and he oversaw the Conquest of the Desert, during which his forces conquered Patagonia after a campaign of genocide against the Mapuche tribes. In 1879, he became the leader of the conservative National Autonomist Party, and he was elected President in 1880. He oversaw the federalization of Buenos Aires after a failed revolution against his rule which left 3,000 dead, and he nationalized a series of functions that were previously under the control of the Catholic Church, promoting laicism. He nationalized Argentine education from the church, leading to a break in relations with the Vatican while making primary education free for all Argentines; Argentina's economy rapidly developed due to a surge of European immigrants, railway construction, and booming agricultural exports. He became a senator and Minister of the Interior after leaving office in 1886, and, during Jose Evaristo Uriburu's sickness from 1895 to 1896, Roca served as acting President. He returned to the presidency from 1898 to 1904, expelling anarchist and socialist trade union leaders, introducing military service in 1901, and resolving a border dispute with Chile in 1902. However, Argentina's foreign debt increased during Roca's second term, which ended in 1904. He died in 1914.